Humidification apparatus

ABSTRACT

A humidifier for use in a recirculating hot water and/or steam heating system. A bypass valve is provided for the controlled delivery of the system fluid to an absorbent material placed over the radiator or fin member of the heating system.

United States Patent Albert Whetstone Southport, Comm 7 Samuel Fine, NewCity, N.Y. Appl. No. 835,568

Filed June 23, 1969 Patented Aug. 3, 1971 Assignee Science Accesories Corporation Southport, Conn.

Inventors HUMIDIFICATION APPARATUS 2 Claims, 4 Drawing Figs.

us. Cl 236/44 c m. u cosu 22/00 Field of Search 237/78;

POWER SOURCE Primary Examiner-Edward J. Michael Attorney-Frank R. Trifari ABSTRACT: A humidifier for use in a recirculating hot water and/or steam heating system. A bypass valve is provided for the controlled delivery of the system fluid to an absorbent material placed over the radiator or fin member of the heating system.

HEAT SOURCE ram PAIENIED IIII; 3I9TI 3. 596. 832

Fig. I

POWER HUMID- AMPLIFIER SOURCE ISTAT DRIVER J 8 9 IO Fig. 2

s 9 IO POWER HUMID- AMPLIFIER SOURCE ISTAT DRIVER j THERMO I AMPLIFIER v II STAT HEATING DRIVER SYSTEM Fig. 3

POWER SOURCE v j HEAT SOURCE 8 2 I8 I .Afi '5 I7 I4 I3! 9 IO INVENTORSI FIg. 4

SAMUEL FINE BY ALBERT WHETSTONE AG \NT HUMIDIFICATION APPARATUS t'o'rated conduit 6 may'b'm'ade'of a rubber or plastic composi-' tionhos'e' or a metallic conduit such as copper tubing with a This invention relatesto anapparatusfor automatically supplying a sourceof water vapor for humidification purposes' to'" 1 anindividual room or rooms duringthat part of the year whe'n heating systemsarc normally useda'ndto thereby increase the relative humidity levels in the rooms. The apparatus is used-in" conjunction with a recirculating hot waterorho't steam heat ing system and inone embodiment'shown will :provide a con-' stant supply of moisture. whenever the heating system is operating.

The small home-humidifierslofthe prior art presented a number. of problems, among them the need for continually 3 replenishing the water-supply-as the. waterevaporated; usually"'- from a pan or. other vessel placed-next to the radiator: They also presented difficultieslarising from theimpurities-in-thewater 1 and the resultant 2 unsightly sediment remaining -in the pan, or residue which tends to 'build upand clog poresof'a spray-type humidifier and render the apparatus inefi'ectivei' The apparatus of this invention utiliz'es'the recirculating hot fluid of the heating system; The' vapor-izing fluid is obtained by tapping into the'system as byremovingthef bleeder" valve'on the outlet conduit and replacing samewith a bypass-valve: The

bypassed fluid is then lead from thevalve, through a conduit, ma perforated tubing placed. over the'heat-radiating member or radiator. An absorbent or wicklik'e material is placed over the radiator and between the'perforatedtubing and the ladia tor, and is thus constantly: 'wette'dtby thefluid emitted b'y" the perforated tubing. The moisture in the'wicltlike' materialwili be vaporized by the heat from the'radiatortjThusyin asim--- plified manner a conventional beating-system can beadapted T for humidification purposes andisuch apparatus can-easily 'be individually installed in anyroomtdesiredzandwilrnotinter fere with the normal operationof the-heating systemz The components-of this. humidifier can,- in fact; bepackagedfor distribution in "kit form and can be easily-rnounted byany householder.

An'object, therefore,'ot this: invention-is to provide'ahumidifier with a'c'onstant supply of water for replenishirig same: 1

Another objectof this invention-isle provide a' humidifieifof a simple construction which can be installed inmost common recirculating fluid-heatin g systems;

whichican be incorporated. into and will automatically-operate with the heatingsystem.

Other objects and advantages of this invention w-ill' be ap-' 11 parent from the following description madezwithreferenceto the drawings, wherein: 1

FIG. 1 representsthe humidifier connected with the' hot' water heating system.

FIG. 2 represents a block diagram of the-humidistat-ampli-fi-- er-driver circuit for controlling the bypass valvei er-driver circuit andthe'interconnection with the thermostat.

FIG. 4 represents a circuit diagram for the-humidifica'tion system. In the embodiment shown in F1031 the heat-radiatingmember or fin member 1, of the recirculating hot water-heaps: ingsystem is supplied by inlet. conduit 2;: with hot waterwhichpasses through the fin member an'dleaves via 'outiet conduit di The outlet-conduitof eachof theiradiatingor fin members-is equipped witha "hleedef' valve for itormally.controlling pres-'- sure in the system. When the bleeder valve isJemoved-anda" bypasssvalve 4, substituted therefore,-a.portion ofithe circuiat ing fluid-can then be diverted toz the bypass conduitifi without sacrificing the benefits and'advantages of the-inormal opem tion of. the-:bleeder valve. A s'ection of perforated hose or tubing 6 is attached to the bypassconduits arid isplacedover an evaporant such as a piece of absorbent'material l'; The bypassed fluid willthus be conducted throughthe perforated tubing 6.,and will, thereby. impregnate the absorbent material 7, placed below the tubing and above theradiatonfmsa- Per A further object of thisinvention is to provide s-humidifier i pattem' ofperforations formed by'fine holes fa'cin'g toward and in contact'with an-equallength of wicklike material, for exam- "ple; 3/1 6-inch thick'and 2-inch wide'braided asbestos ribbon. lt should-be obvious-that other wicklike materials such as cot-' ton wadding will beequally as effective; also-that the recirculating fluid-maybe steaminsteadofhot'water. Thede'vice willbperatein'the followingmanne'r; when the thermostatof' the hot water system'calls' for heat the hot fluid will start-'circulatingf'as a consequence thefin'member 1 will behe'ated andwill'heatthe' air' 'surrounding the fin member,

the warmedair will reduc'e the relative' humidity. However, .withthe humidifier-in operation part'ofthecirculatingfluid 'willbedir'ectedthroughth bypass conduit 5 and perforated tubing 6a'nd thus'moisten the absorbent material 7 wherefrom" it will be evaporated to increaseth'e moisture contnt'df the airand resultantrelatiiie humidity. Thus; it can be's'een that whenever the thermostat call'sfor heat, the hotwater'then cir-- culatingwill't'if necessity pass throughthe by ass valve and a portion thereof will be conducted to the absorbent material; Since the'flu'id is not=evaporated directly from the perforated tubing thei'e little likelihood that impuritiesin the'fluitl will clog the porjes of the perforated tubing and the absorbent" material itselfcan'be easily'replaced cumulates'thereinf v v p In 'a more sophisticated embodiment a-hum'idistat-amplifierdriver relay circuit,-"as shownin FIG; 2, is incorporated into periodically if residue actemperature settin'g oi'rthe thermostat.

n should'be apparent thatalthbugh the humidistat will (their the bypass valve nofluid-fwill'be' diverted to the humidifier'unless the thermostatcallsforheat.

ln anotherembodiment a' completely automatic'control i's establish'ed,- as illustrated diagrammatically'in F1653, by an electricalinterlinkage between the humidistat 8 and the ther-' mostats II of the'heating'system. A comfort zone inay be' 50 establislkdbetween a minimum-setting andthe humidist at' c alibra tecl stici'i' that tiie bypass valve will' be in an foff position when the hurnidis'tatis'inacomfort zone. If the humidist'at' is above'or below the ext'l'eines of this zone the val've can be opened or closedaccordingly': For example, if the humidistat reading'drops below the minimumsettiiig on the 'lium'id'is'tat' ile. in th'ecase' where there is aneed'fdrincreasin g' the humidi ty, the solenoid-'10 activates the bypass'vali/e4-in a manner as previously described, and the heating system is activatedbyasignal from' the l'lumidistat such that there will be a call for" heat 'by bypassingthe thermostat're'gardles's" of any previous thermostatisettir'igs. mus will cause a I circulatin of the hot fluidand thedeliveryofsameto the humidifier.

If the humidity rises abovethemaximumsettingof the humidist at'iie. there is indicated a'nee'dto'reduce the relative hu- .midityAhe-solenoid will not be activatedandthebypassvalve will re'rn'aiit closed';-iiowever"a signa'iwillbe sent through the thermostat regardlessof tiie pre1vious settings of the thermo-' statand' callingifnradditionaiheat'and for the" circulation of thehot fluidthereby'permitting'the radiationofw'arm' air from" theiradiatorwhich 'will"reduce the relative humidity in the room.-' Once the humidity drops" into' the" comfort ione the thermostavwilla'gaiu takeover its normal operational control I The circuit'diag'ram inns: "4sh'ows1a means'of'irn'plement irig=tbeabovecontrol'system; The humidistat'8'mayhave a" double-pole double-throw switch 12 which is shown in a nonoperative or "off" position as when the humidistat is in the comfort zone. The switch is held in this position by the spring 13 which can be the moisture response coil spring of the humidistat, and is calibrated so that when the index 14 is within the comfort zone the switch will not make contact with the terminals 15 and 16. Ifthe humidistat falls below the limits of the comfort zone, the switch 12 is moved by the spring 13 and switch terminals 17 and 18 will contact corresponding terminals l5 and 16 to complete a circuit which activates the mal manner and independently of the thermostat as for example by means of a bimetallic temperature-responsive strip 19 coupled to the indicator 22 and spring closing switch 21. It should be noted that electrical rather than mechanical controls can be used for operating the thermostat and/or humidistat and that the indicators 12 and 14 can be used to activate an electrical circuit to perform the above-described functions.

The above-cited embodiments are intended as exemplary and while we have described the invention with specific embodiment, further modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

We claim:

1. A humidification apparatus for use with a recirculating hot fluid heating system comprising a heat-radiating member, an inlet conduit for conducting fluid into the radiating member, an outlet conduit for removing fluid from the radiating member, a bypass valve located in the outlet conduit for conducting a portion of the circulating fluid out of the system, a bypass conduit connected to the valve, and absorbent material located above and adjacent the heat-radiating member for receiving and absorbing the bypassed fluid which is then evaporated into the air by the heat-radiating member for increasing the relative humidity thereof, a perforated tube connected to said bypass conduit an d located above and ad- 5 jacent said absorbent material for dropping the bypassed fluid thereonto, a solenoid connected "to said bypass valve for operating same, a humidistat responsive to changes of relative humidity operatively connected to said solenoid, an amplifierdriver connected between said humidistat and saidsolenoid being responsive to a signal from said humidistat to activate the solenoid and thereby permit flow of fluid into the'bypass conduit and on to the absorbent material, a thermostat for controlling the normal operation of the heating system, and

electrical means connected to said humidistat for bypassing the thermostat control so as to activate the heating system when said humidistat calls for a change of humidity levels regardless of whether said thermostat has operated.

2. The humidification apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said electrical means comprises a double pole switch having a first position and a second position, said switch being connected to the humidistat control, the humidistat operating to move the switch to the first position when there is a need to increase the relative humidity and said humidistat operating to move the switch to the first position when there is a need to decrease the relative humidity whereby when said switch is in the first positionsaid amplifier driver will be operated to activate the said solenoid and thereby open the bypass valve and said heating system will simultaneously be activated by connection from the switch bypassing the thermostat control so that the relative humidity will automatically be increased and whereby said heating system will be activated by the connection to said switch without activating the solenoid when said switch is in the second position so as to provide for hot fluid circulation without fluid being fed to the absorbent material so as to reduce the relative humidity.

2 23 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3,596,832 Dated August 3, 1971 Inventor(s) RT WHETSTONE ET AL .It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Col. 2, line 49, after "minimum" insert and maximum--;

Claim 2, line 7, "first" should be -second;

line 8, after "humidity insert Signed and sealed this 19th day of September 1972.

(SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD M.FLETCHER,JR. ROBERT GOTTSCHALK Attasting Officer Commissioner of Patents 

1. A humidification apparatus for use with a recirculating hot fluid heating system comprising a heat-radiating member, an inlet conduit for conducting fluid into the radiating member, an outlet conduit for removing fluid from the radiating member, a bypass valve located in the outlet conduit for conducting a portion of the circulating fluid out of the system, a bypass conduit connected to the valve, and absorbent material located above and adjacent the heat-radiating member for receiving and absorbing the bypassed fluid which is then evaporated into the air by the heat-radiating member for increasing the relative humidity thereof, a perforated tube connected to said bypass conduit and located above and adjacent said absorbent material for dropping the bypassed fluid thereonto, a solenoid connected to said bypass valve for operating same, a humidistat responsive to changes of relative humidity operatively connected to said solenoid, an amplifier-driver connected between said humidistat and said solenoid being responsive to a signal from said humidistat to activate the solenoid and thereby permit flow of fluid into the bypass conduit and on to The absorbent material, a thermostat for controlling the normal operation of the heating system, and electrical means connected to said humidistat for bypassing the thermostat control so as to activate the heating system when said humidistat calls for a change of humidity levels regardless of whether said thermostat has operated.
 2. The humidification apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said electrical means comprises a double pole switch having a first position and a second position, said switch being connected to the humidistat control, the humidistat operating to move the switch to the first position when there is a need to increase the relative humidity and said humidistat operating to move the switch to the first position when there is a need to decrease the relative humidity whereby when said switch is in the first position said amplifier driver will be operated to activate the said solenoid and thereby open the bypass valve and said heating system will simultaneously be activated by connection from the switch bypassing the thermostat control so that the relative humidity will automatically be increased and whereby said heating system will be activated by the connection to said switch without activating the solenoid when said switch is in the second position so as to provide for hot fluid circulation without fluid being fed to the absorbent material so as to reduce the relative humidity. 